


Dirty Vows

by snarechan



Category: Transformers, Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-29
Updated: 2009-06-29
Packaged: 2017-10-22 04:04:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarechan/pseuds/snarechan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A deal is made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirty Vows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ouronlyhunter](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=ouronlyhunter).



> To ouronlyhunter, who prompted: _IDW Grimlock/Movie Barricade, they're both self-serving and very smart in that 'screw-you, I'm doing what I want way' - see what kind of sick-ness could be done with that._ Whelp.
> 
> Thanks to Cassandra Cassidy for the beta. <3

With the escalating chances of a full-on war breaking out on Cybertron, tempers were short and violence was high. Nobody was aware of who to trust – lines were drawn, sides were picked, decisions went unsaid until provoked. It was increasingly important to find out which side to be on because there was no place for neutrals on a planet ready to be split straight down the middle and unleash who knew what. It was either fight or be swallowed up.

And Grimlock had fought too hard and too long already to get where he was, and no way was he going to fall.

Shoving past the city crowds, he forcefully made his way to a literal hole-in-the-wall bar, the place tucked inside a wreck of a building. Even in the golden days, when the times were peaceful and plentiful for all, it had been a dangerous place to tread. These days, it went without indication that to go there was to take one’s existence into one’s own hands and chancing them to be cut off at the wrist, any odds of survival falling with them.

There wasn’t a bouncer of any kind present, and he lumbered his way in without any provocation. Inside it was dark – darker than the night world outside – and relatively full, all the tables for two occupied and a couple of booths taken, with one lone patron sitting up at the bar counter. He garnered the attention of every patron, save the one who chose to be by himself, and he could feel them judging his worth and how much of a fight he could put up.

Dismissing their notice, Grimlock headed straight to the back of the room and did not stop until he was standing behind the one sitting at the counter. He towered over them easily, and he would still should the other Cybertronian decide to stand, more than three or five heads taller, depending on which position they were in.

“Barricade?” he rumbled, offering him no other greeting.

“Who is asking?” Barricade said, equally as tart, and remained with his back to him.

Growling, Grimlock grabbed him by the shoulder and _forced_ him to look, leaning down and getting right in the shorter mech’s faceplate.

“ _I_ am! I demand an audience with you.”

Barricade didn’t flinch, and though all four of his red optics were facing him, Grimlock got the distinct impression that he was not seen. It was infuriating and insulting. Calmly, but roughly, Barricade lifted his hand from his shoulder. The bigger of the two put up enough of a fight to leave scratches in the armor, but had little time for much else because Barricade was surprisingly strong for his model and size.

“That does not mean much to me.”

In a rare show of discretion, Grimlock hushed his voice, whispering, “What about the word _Decepticon?_ I wish to speak to you of that group.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Liar,” he hissed, retaining his quiet tone, but managed to add a hint of his earlier, booming anger.

A pause, and then Barricade _laughed,_ saying, “And what if I am?”

Even while saying that, he motioned with a clawed hand for Grimlock to take a seat. The bar stools varied in dimension, ready to accommodate anyone who dared stepped inside, and so Grimlock was able to find one that could handle his bulk.

“To what do I owe the honor of your company? It’s not often an Autobot sympathizer wanders through here, much less one asking for me,” he said, all optics turning into amused slits. “Unless, of course, they wish to settle a dispute?”

He snorted at that, already aware of the other mech’s reputation in the gambling underground. Whether it be the gladiator ring or illegal racing, he had a hand in it. No doubt this habit of his had led to more than one scuffle.

“If I was here to be avenged, you’d be dead,” Grimlock clarified, bluntly.

“But that topic holds some significance to your visit, correct?”

“Perhaps,” he said, tired of Barricade’s scrounging for information. “I want to cut a deal with you.”

Barricade gazed at him with the lack of a measuring tilt to it, no doubt having already surveyed him for his merit and determined him at least entertaining enough to humor, and cut his gaze to the side. The bartender caught the look and stopped what he was doing to leave immediately. The rest of the bar was quick to follow the example, leaving just the two of them to fill the empty room.

“What is it you had in mind, Grimlock?” Barricade rumbled his name, pulling in the rest of his attention.

“You’re wrong about my mercies towards the Autobots,” he started, adding before the other could interrupt, “but I’m not what you’d call an avid fan of Megatron, either. He is too brash, too aimless – he does not strike me as someone going places.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

Grimlock snarled, getting to the point. “My Dynobots and I are looking for someone; someone close to Megatron. I have come into possession of the knowledge that you are a skilled hunter and can go where we cannot.”

“And if I do accept your offer, what then? My services come at a hefty price, especially for what it is you are requesting.”

Grimlock straightened, looking fierce as he declared, “We shall be in your debt. That is the best we may offer.”

“A tempting bid, I suppose,” he said, appearing to mull it over. It was risky for him to leave such an open-ended offer to someone such as Barricade, who could find man y dangerous or illegal activities to get them involved in, but he remained skeptical. “I have always kept my end of the bargain – but how will I know you and your little friends will come through? I deal with loose ends harshly, you see.”

“ _If_ you complete the task at hand, then you have my word. There is no greater guarantee than that,” Grimlock said, the pride he felt for that fact slipping through. He and his comrades had never backed out of a promise. It was probably why the other mech was as doubtful of his intentions as he was – his group did not give out these sorts of pledges often, and thus the rumors or tales of such feats were probably akin to make-believe.

Except that for them to be known at all, there had to be a grain of truth to them. Barricade wasn’t stupid; he would realize that. He _did_ realize that, and it was why he agreed.

“Then it will be done, but not now. I will contact you when the time is right,” Barricade conceded, signaling that he considered the conversation over.

“You don’t even know who you are looking for, or how to get a hold of me.”

“Who is inconsequential; I have always found my target,” he said, giving Grimlock a harsh, confident look as he finished with, “and the likes of you will be no different. Just be prepared for my signal.”

Grimlock sneered, but nodded. For now, their power struggle settled on the Barricade’s shoulder struts, but the balance of power would only last so long.

-Fin-


End file.
